Black Button Eyes Productions Presents CORALINE, Now thru 9/6

Black Button Eyes Productions presents the Midwest Premiere of "Coraline," a musical by Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan, adapted from the novel by Neil Gaiman, at City Lit Theater in Chicago, at 1020 W Bryn Mawn Ave, today, August 8 - Sept 6. "Coraline," directed by Edward Rutherford with music direction from Nick Sula, begins previews August 8, press opening is August 9; show runs through September 6. For more information, visit CoralineChicago.com.

"I'm a tremendous fan of Neil Gaiman's work," said Director Edward Rutherford, "and Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan's adaptation has a spare and story theater-influenced approach that makes it a perfect piece to bring to Chicago's storefront theater scene. With a dynamite cast and Nick Sula on board to guide us through the show's unique score, I'm eager for us to begin rehearsals and start tackling this darkly entertaining script. While the story is about a little girl, it's definitely not children's theater."

Adapted from the beloved fantasy novel Coraline by Neil Gaiman, this original musical by Stephin Merritt & David Greenspan tells the story of Coraline Jones, a young girl who has just moved with her parents into a new flat in an old house. Bored by her colorless surroundings and her busy parents, she goes exploring and discovers a door unlike any in the house - a magic door that, when unlocked, reveals a passage to a strange world like her own, but with one key difference: all the grownups have black buttons for eyes. This new world seems to offer all she wants: parents who are keenly interested in her, toys that sing and dance, neighbors who get her name right. But as this parallel world becomes increasingly unsettling, Coraline must learn the true meaning of bravery to save her parents and herself.

"The score Stephin Merritt composed is singular," said Music Director Nick Sula, "It's composed for three different types of piano. Whenever Coraline sings, the score is written for multiple toy pianos, and we also have an upright piano for whenever the grownups sing in the real world. For the Other World, Merritt has written music for a specially 'prepared' baby grand piano, with various foreign objects inserted or attached between the piano strings. There's no other musical quite like it."